Perspex. Definitions of Materials. Perspex – Trade name (ICI) for acrylic resin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poly(methyl_methacrylate A source of information.

John Harry Smith invented perspex. Perspex was invented in 1934.

First developed in the 1930s as polymerized methyl methylacrylate, this durable thermoplastic was first produced commercially under the registered trade name of Perspex by ICI in 1935. Tough, flexible, and translucent it was an alternative to glass and was widely used in the Second World War for aircraft cockpits. Other design uses include transparent rulers, protractors, and recipe holders, transparent furniture, lighting, and jewellery. It is marketed in the United States as Plexiglass and Lucite.
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An acrylic resin, CH 2= C(CH3)COOCH3, derived from methyl acrylic acid. Monomer is the single molecule and polymer is the polymerization product.
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This is a thermoplastic widely used for making unbreakable watch glass.It was first produced in 1930. Its common use is in the form of contact lenses for those people who want to get rid of glasses.It is the most common and reliable alternative to glass. Perspex is too hard and too tough to shatter. But there are other uses of Perspex also beside personal uses. It is also used for making dentures and artificial eyes. Because of having a good degree of compatibility with human tissues it is used for manufacturing lenses and artificial eyes. Being hard and transparent, Perspex has many industrial uses also such as safety goggles, machine safety guards etc.Perspex is widely used because of its unique property that it can be moulded into any shape. Unlike other plastics, Perspex is made directly into sheets during manufacturing. Its specific name of PMMA plastic is used in making plastic bags, squeeze detergent bottles, washing up bounds, etc.

It is also used in film form for packing because it is cheap, transparent, tough, and flexible. It is also manufactured under different names in different places like Rhoplex in USA and Oroglas in Europe.

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Acrylic sheet is often referred to in Australia as Perspex which has become its generic description. Perspex from Lucite is in fact an internationally renowned brand of acrylic sheet which is recognised for its quality and extensive product range.

Perspex is a trademark first registered in 1934. Its first application was for the Spitfire (fighter plane) panel canopies. Today Perspex stands for innovation and quality in acrylic. Perspex has always been at the forefront of innovative design-with each decade in its development demonstrating a further step in making Perspex what it is today.

An extensive range of sheet sizes and thicknesses and an increased choice of colours, tints, surface textures and special effect products meant that Perspex  was ideally suited to take a place in the emerging global branding and corporate imaging culture that was a feature of the 80′s and increasingly dominates today’s global environment.

When it comes to acrylic in the corporate signage and imaging sector, Perspex has been first choice among leading brands for many years. Perspex solutions can be colour-matched to any conceivable shade, perform exceptionally well in all weather conditions and have excellent light transmission qualities.

These performance factors make it the preferred choice for multi-national brands that want to project their corporate and brand identities precisely and consistently across regions over a long period of time.

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